Los Angeles TimesThat Perman has crafted a compelling tale that tells several stories at once and will appeal equally to readers inside and outside of the insular watch-collecting community is a testament to her considerable skills.

Watch Journal Review…Perman brings to life the high-powered and often-secretive world of watch collecting through meticulous research, vivid detail and an abundance of unforgettable personalities.

The Toronto Star reviews A Grand ComplicationIt’s possible the world has not been waiting with bated breath for a history of mechanical pocket watch connoisseurship. But Stacy Perman’s book, A Grand Complication, makes me wonder if we shouldn’t have been.

Maclean’s ReviewPerman packs in so much detail about the lavish lifestyles of the pre-Great Depression rich that her book can sometimes read like The Great Gatsby on steroids. But there’s no obscuring the real stars here, the triumphs of Gilded-Age nanotechnology brought to life by the obsessions and money of Packard and Graves.

The Booklist ReviewThe duel between two wealthy Americans to build and own the greatest timepiece ever constructed is meticulously narrated by journalist Perman…The story will attract both watch enthusiasts and readers interested in the Gilded Age, as it examines the fascinating technological complexity of timepieces in the context of the era’s overall focus on progress.

The Monochrome ReviewBy hearkening back to a time of more, Perman shares the limitlessness of human aspiration.

The Civil Engineering Magazine ReviewAuthor Stacy Perman is meticulous enough in her research to satisfy the most exacting horologist, and her attention to detail evokes Jack Finney as she carefully reconstructs daily life in fin de siècle America and the Roaring Twenties. But it is her obvious passion for the subject that gives life to A Grand Complication and keeps the pages turning.

National Association of Watch & Clock CollectorsThe author spins a captivating story describing the ‘arms race’ between the two protagonists to not only dream up ever more complex watches, but to actually have these machines produced in steel and gold.

Maine Antique Digest ReviewThe race is worthy of a pitch to some television producers for a series. Perman’s ample descriptions of costumes, customs, idiosyncrasies, and social commentary will make the transition as smooth as the ticking of an elegant Swiss watch.

Speedreaders ReviewIn 295 pages she successfully blends the biographies of two major collectors with a dollop of time-keeping history, in a book that reads at times like a spy novel.

New York Times: Watches That Follow The Stars“In the Middle Ages, it was only cities or royalty or churches that built clocks,” said Stacy Perman, author of “A Grand Complication: The Race to Build the World’s Most Legendary Watch,” a book about the Graves Supercomplication, a famous pocket watch made by Patek Philippe.

New York Times: Gentlemen’s War, and Its ProgenyOn Dec. 2, 1999, in a packed salesroom at Sotheby’s headquarters here, an anonymous phone bidder made watchmaking history by paying $11 million for a Patek Philippe pocket watch considered, then and now, to be the Mona Lisa of timepieces.

Time magazine: Q&A: Stacy Perman As the book details this collecting duel, Perman chronicles its many connections to a vast sweep of American history when staggering fortunes were made, the country’s plutocracy emerged, and America began its rise as a global economic power.

Los Angeles Times Jacket CopyDespite a diverse range of topics — Mexican food, the coca plant, the world’s most complicated watch and the federal duck stamp art program — the authors participating in Saturday’s Festival of Books panel discussion “A Singular Passion” all described similar experiences when it came to writing an entire book on a single, seemingly niche topic.

Askmen: Stacy Perman InterviewMechanical watches test the limits of the possible in the pursuit of smaller movements and greater accuracy. And, in terms of sheer mechanical brilliance, they make your smartphone look like a paperweight.

Original Powell’s Essay: The Desire of ObjectsTheirs was a tale told through a prism of precious objects, and so I began by tracking down the remnants of what they had left behind.Theirs was a tale told through a prism of precious objects, and so I began by tracking down the remnants of what they had left behind.

UnshelvedI knew that mechanical pocket watches used small gears and cogs, but I didn’t know the half of how complicated they were.

Women’s Wear DailyLos Angeles native Stacy Perman, the author of “In-N-Out Burger,” a New York Times bestseller, has just published her third book, “A Grand Complication: The Race to Build the World’s…

Pursuitist: The Enduring Allure of Complicated WatchesGreat Objects often foster greater obsessions. In A Grand Complication: The Race to Build The World’s Most Legendary Watch, Stacy Perman chronicles the creation of an extraordinary timepiece, the Patek Philippe Supercomplication and of two collectors: James Ward Packard and Henry Graves Jr.